Novawest Proposes Landmark 420-Foot-Tall Tower for Downtown Phoenix

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

Novawest L.L.C. is planning a distinctive addition to the Downtown Phoenix skyline: a 420-foot pin-like tower that would be the tallest building in Arizona.

Bjarke Ingels Group, a Copenhagen-based architectural firm, is providing the design for a 39-story structure with a reinforced concrete core topped by an open-air spiral sphere. The tower would include 70,000 of retail units, restaurant outlets and flexible exhibition space, noted World Architecture News.

Reminiscent of both a pin and Frank Lloyd Wright’s landmark design for the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan, the structure would offer a 360-degree view. “The motion at the Pin is turned inside-out, allowing visitors to contemplate the surrounding city and landscape of Phoenix,” explained Bjarke Ingels, the design firm’s founding partner.

Novawest wants to build the structure near the Arizona Science Center, Phoenix Convention Center and US Airways Center, reports the Phoenix Business Journal.

Novawest plans to break ground on the $60 million tower in August 2013 so that the project can be completed before the 2015 Super Bowl, which will be played nearby at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.

Major hurdles lie ahead, however; Novawest must secure financing and win city approval. Moreover, the firm will have to negotiate a lease for the city-owned site of the proposed project, adds AZCentral.com.